Brand New Bike. Brand New Oil Leak.

[Clickjack]

555 miles on my S4RT all under 6k RPM.  I decide to stop let my hands rest and watch the Prairie Dogs for a few minutes.  Apparently I was dragging a contrail of smoke.  I turn off the bike and  jump off and it just starts pouring out from under my seat.  I take the seat off, nothings on fire.  Then I see it.  I have an Oil Leak.    Which is funny cause I rode a HD for 5 years with out any leaks.  And that was the first thing the sales man said when he heard I was switching back to Sport bikes. 

[Popeye the Sailor]

Well.....at least it's under warranty.....

[Spidey]

Where is the leak from?  It may be no big deal.

[Porsche Monkey]

Oil breather perhaps?  Don't know the setup on those bikes.

[Clickjack]

Where is the leak from?  It may be no big deal.

I'm hoping that's the case.  I live 5 1/2 hours from a dealer.  In less I can con Duc into coming and getting it and dropping it back off, that's a long time with out my bike.    

I can't quite tell where the leak is from yet.  I have traced it to the rubber oil hose that goes over the gold suspension cylinder under the seat.


Sorry the photos upside down.  Tried like 8 times to get it to flip but no luck.

[jdubbs32584]

I'm hoping that's the case.  I live 5 1/2 hours from a dealer.  In less I can con Duc into coming and getting it and dropping it back off, that's a long time with out my bike.    

I can't quite tell where the leak is from yet.  I have traced it to the rubber oil hose that goes over the gold suspension cylinder under the seat.

I thought towing came with the warranty. My ex and I were riding somewhere and the bike broke down. He called a number on his Ducati card and they got him a tow. Ended up not costing him a thing.

But this was two or three years ago. Any one else know something about that?

[Clickjack]

Towing comes with the warranty.  But it's now at my house.  I have a feeling they won't want to haul it to Dallas, or OKC and back to fix it. 

[red baron]

Towing comes with the warranty.  But it's now at my house.  I have a feeling they won't want to haul it to Dallas, or OKC and back to fix it. 

Drive to a friends house and call.

[mxwinky]

Hmmm, bike's too new to have anything really wrong with it - though there's always the oddball in every group, HD included.  First thing I'd check is to see if the oil level is too high.  It's possible it was overfilled and the excess is pumping through the breather and out into the canister.  If it's really pushing a lot of oil it can work its way through into the intake and the engine will try to re-burn it with each breath of air it takes in, thus the smoke.  Check the air filter to see if it's oil saturated.  If so, I think you've found the answer.  Either the engine was way overfilled or the breather isn't functioning properly and crankcase pressure is forcing oil out.  If not there are certainly other possibilities, but I'd check out the simplest first.  No matter what, it's a great bike with a great warranty.  Ducati will stick by it.

[Clickjack]

Oh I'm stoked on my bike.  No regrets their.  I just told the HD things because I thought it was funny. 

If it were overfilled with oil wouldn't it have turned up before now?  I've been riding nearly everyday since I got the bike.

[Klip]

It sounds like you have the exact same problem I had.

Very shortly after I got my new monster last year (also an S4R Testastretta) I rolled up to a stop light only to notice smoke billowing out from under the seat. I quickly turned the engine off and investigated. It turned out to be that "gold cylinder"... the rear shock resevoir. It sprung a leak for whatever reason. The next day, I wrapped the resevoir in a towel and zip tied it, then rode the bike to the dealer.

For me, at least, it wasn't the engine at all. The dealer replaced the entire rear shock and I've been good to go ever since. Nearly 9,000 miles on her now and haven't had another problem since.

[Clickjack]

you know it really looks like the cylinder in the problem... but I figured that was just crazy talk.

[MendoDave]

If its the hose, then its the oil breather and you might as well fix it yourself. If it is from the shock reservoir take it in.

[arai_speed]

Didn't you hear that Ducati's are Italian Harley's?? Hello? 

Good luck with getting fixed!

[Clickjack]

Italian Harley's?? Hello? 

Thats probably what drew me to this bike...